Szablyár Péter: Step by step - Our Budapest (Budapest, 2010)

Royal Stairs - stairways in Várkert (Castle Garden)

Royal Stairs — stairways in Várkert (Castle Garden)

A mental picture of King Matthias's gardens of European renown can be made on the basis of the historian Bonfini's descriptions, but their exact layout, pathways and stairs remain unknown. The slopes of Castle Hill, which were ravaged by sieges and other disasters in later times, were not to regain their status as symbols of regal splendour and the pride of later residents of the palace before the 18th and 19th centuries.

Significant improvements were made during the reign of Queen Maria Theresa and then under the governance of Palatine Joseph. The rose garden planted outside the palace under the tenure of Joseph, a versatile politician well-versed in the art of botany too, was acclaimed all over Europe. The garden was badly damaged during the siege of 1849, but after its reconstruction in 1859 János Hunfalvy described the place in glowing terms. In his book Budapest és környéke eredeti képekben (The History of Buda-Pest and Environs in Original Pictures) he thus enthuses about the garden: "But the finest ornament of the castle and the palace is the castle garden surrounding the building on three sides."

The millenary preparations effected some major changes to the castle garden, too. The glass house built in 1856 on the terrace beneath the palace was demolished to clear the site for a modern conservatory built to designs by Alajos Hauszmann.

■ The Castle Garden - Hauszmann's ornamental stairs

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